


Touching

by Larry_Klaine_Stylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Clingy!Harry, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-12
Updated: 2013-04-12
Packaged: 2017-12-08 05:37:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/757681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larry_Klaine_Stylinson/pseuds/Larry_Klaine_Stylinson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry has always loved touching Louis, just being close to him in any way possible. But, some days, Louis doesn't like it quite as much as Harry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Touching

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written as a prompt fill on Tumblr.

Harry had always been a bit touchy feely when it came to Louis. Ever since the first day they got put together as a band and Louis had jumped into his arms. It had felt so natural then, and he never really wanted to let that feeling go.

It was natural with all the boys, really, but it was different with Louis. Maybe it was just because he was in love with Louis. He wasn't sure. But he just liked being connected to Louis, one way or another, whether it was a hand on his knee or their arms wrapped around each other, he just felt safer when they were touching.

Back at the beginning of their friendship it would just be little things, shoving Louis' shoulder or poking his thigh with his toe when all five boys were huddled together on a couch singing or talking or goofing around. And then as his feeling for Louis developed, his little touches here and there became more deliberate. He was trying to get his point across to Louis that he really really fancied him without actually saying so. Because he wasn't really shy, but he was nervous about this. Because they were in a band together, and so if things went badly it could be really awkward.

So he started gently placing a hand on Louis' knee and squeezing lightly, or brushing his hand against Louis' 'accidentally', although he did it far too often for it to really be an accident at all. There were even some occasions where he'd rest his head on Louis' shoulder. And all of the boys were like that with each other, really, but it felt different to Harry with Louis, because with Louis there were feelings there, and he just hoped Louis could sense that.

Apparently, he could, because after a few weeks of Harry's little touches, Louis had pulled him aside one day and just kissed him, and Harry had smiled so widely that he thought his face might split in two, and Louis had said, "I hope that was okay.", and they'd pretty much been touching each other non-stop ever since.

The boys all hugged each other nearly every chance they got. They were all very huggy people. But when it came to Louis and Harry, they were practically always hugging. And their hugs were just...Different. Or at least Harry felt that way. They held each other tighter than the rest of the boys, and they held on for longer, and they stayed in the embrace, breathing deeply, and Louis always smelled kind of like strawberries but also like tea leaves, and it was a strange combination but Harry thought it was kind of perfect, and kind of precisely Louis.

Harry liked to kiss Louis, too, of course. But he thought his favorite thing might be when he and Louis just sort of held each other tight, because it honestly felt like they were never going to let go, and he liked that. He never wanted to let Louis go.

As the months passed and they finished X Factor and moved into their flat together, their touches became more sexual, and those were nice, too. Everything was nice with Louis. And as much as he liked to pretend he was this cool guy who could date anyone he wanted and knew everything there was to know, he had been a virgin up until he met Louis, and so he was a little scared about all of it, but Louis had been sweet and gentle and had made everything so special. It was special every time, and Harry was pretty sure his heart might explode with the love he felt for Louis. Sometimes it was almost painful how much he truly cared about the older boy.

They had been officially together for over two years now, and they were sitting on the couch together in their flat watching the telly. Some old Scooby Doo cartoons were on, and Harry had talked Louis into watching them with him. Scooby Doo was his absolute favorite show when he was younger, and he couldn't pass up an opportunity to watch it.

Louis seemed a little out of sorts today, and Harry wasn't sure why, but he wanted to fix it. He brushed Louis' fringe out of his eyes. They were just lounging around the house today, so he hadn't bothered to do his hair up in any sort of quiff, and it was lying gently against his forehead. After sweeping the hair out of his eyes, Harry gave him a quick kiss on the temple, and then rested his head on Louis' shoulder, wrapping his arms around the older boy's waist and squeezing gently, breathing in his scent, which was still the same as the day Harry had met him. Strawberry and tea leaves and just...Louis.

Louis let out a soft huff of air, and Harry tapped his fingers gently against Louis' hip, and after a moment or two Louis took Harry's arms, unwrapping them from around himself and getting up off the couch. Harry pouted a little, and the episode of Scooby Doo they were watching was about to end. Louis was going to miss who the bad guy was. Not that it wasn't obvious, but still. What was the fun of watching Scooby Doo if you didn't see who the bad guy was? (Aside from those little montages where they chased the monster in and out of various doors, because what could be more amusing than that?)

Harry got up from the couch, heading into the kitchen where Louis had gone and coming up behind him where he stood in front of the counter. He wrapped his long arms around him and kissed his neck gently.

"You're gonna miss the end, Boo Bear." He said.

"Harry, it was obviously the gardener. And he's just going to say, 'I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you pesky kids.'" Louis sighed, sounding annoyed.

"If you didn't want to watch Scooby Doo you could've just said so, Lou."

"That's not the problem, Harry." Louis huffed, unwrapping Harry's arms from around his waist. "Can't I just make a simple cup of tea without you following me into the kitchen like a damned lost puppy? I just need two seconds alone, Harry!"

"What?" Harry asked, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Can't you just leave me alone for five minutes? Honestly. I swear, every single second we spend together in this damn flat you're glued to my hip and I can't breathe, Harry! Sometimes I just need a moment. I just need to make a cup of tea in peace while you watch your stupid cartoon. Please!"

"Alright." Harry said, stepping back from where he had still been standing directly behind Louis. "Fine, Lou. If you didn't want me to hug you you could've just told me that. You didn't have to...You didn't have to shout at me. You seemed sad and I was just trying to help, but if you'd rather I stay away then fine." Harry bit his lip, trying not to cry. Louis had never expressed a disinterest in cuddling before. "You can finish watching my 'stupid cartoon' on your own, then!" He said, before walking briskly to their bedroom, waiting until he was inside with the door fully shut to begin crying.

He didn't want to be crying over this. It wasn't like Louis had said anything too bad, but just the fact that he didn't want Harry touching him was enough to get the younger boy upset. He loved touching Louis. He felt safe and at home when he was touching Louis. They already didn't get enough of a chance to touch each other, what with being in the public eye so often and all of that. He wished they could come out just so he could touch Louis whenever he wanted and not get reprimanded for it. He wasn't even allowed to give him simple touches like the ones he shared with all of the other boys, and it was actually physically painful for him not being able to touch Louis, and now Louis was telling Harry he didn't even want him touching him at home?

The tears trailed down his cheeks, slipping off his chin in little drops and landing on the fabric of his trousers as he sat on the edge of their bed. He didn't want to cry, but he didn't want to stop, either. What Louis had said had really hurt him. And maybe if he'd expressed himself in a different way it wouldn't have been so bad. Maybe a light kiss to the temple and a 'Not right now, Hazza, dear.' or a gentle squeeze of his hip and a 'Please just give me a minute or two by myself, love.' But that wasn't what he'd done at all. He'd snapped at Harry. Outright yelled at him and he might as well have called him an annoying little twat while he was at it, because that's how Harry felt. Utterly annoying and maybe a little stupid and definitely a little childish.

Because who but a five year old would cling to someone the way he did to Louis and force them to watch Scooby Doo? Has he always annoyed Louis like this and today was just the day that Louis decided to tell him how he really felt about it all? Maybe Louis just didn't like touching Harry as much as Harry liked touching Louis. That would be okay, really, Harry supposed. Just so long as Louis would still hug him sometimes, or hold him when they watched a sad movie. He'd miss getting to touch Louis all the time and hold him in his arms, but if Louis didn't like it he could stop. He'd have to.

There was a very soft knock at the door, and Harry wiped at his eyes, sniffling just a bit before saying, "Come in!"

The door opened, and Louis was standing there with two cups of tea and a sad look on his face.

"Hazza, have you been crying?" He asked, concern lacing his tone.

"M'fine." Harry mumbled, looking down at his hands which were clasped together in his lap.

"I made you some tea." Louis said, sitting down next to Harry on the bed and handing him a cup.

"Thanks." Harry said, taking the cup from Louis' hands, their fingers brushing against each other during the exchange.

"Harry, I'm sorry." Louis said.

"It's fine, Lou." Harry said, looking down into the steaming light brown liquid that filled his cup. It was nearly the same shade as Louis' hair. "If you didn't want to cuddle you didn't need to yell, though. Just tell me. I'll leave you alone from now on, I promise."

"Oh, Harry." Louis said, taking Harry's cup from him and setting it down on their bedside table along with his own. "Come here, love." He said, lying down on the bed and patting the space next to him.

Harry laid down, still not looking at Louis, and Louis scooted over so their sides were flush together, resting his head on Harry's chest.

"I'm really sorry I yelled, and I'm even sorrier if I made you think I don't like cuddling with you anymore. That's not the case at all, you know?" Louis told him. "I love cuddling you. I feel safe and happy when I'm cuddling you, and I can tell you feel the same, and that makes me extra happy, Harry. I just...I woke up today and I was in an awful mood. I don't know why. I think it's just one of those days, you know? And I was just feeling a little claustrophobic with your arms all around me and I felt like I couldn't get away because no matter where I went, there you were. And I should have just told you how I was feeling, but I didn't want to upset you, but then it all just came out and I was awful about it."

Harry blinked, trying to clear the fresh wave of tears from his eyes, "You promise I don't annoy you?"

"I promise. Honestly, Harry, do you think I'd cuddle you as much as I do if I hated it?"

Harry half shrugged, setting a hand gently on Louis' hip, still afraid Louis would yell at him again and tell him to get off and leave him alone.

"You can cuddle me properly, Harry." Louis said. "It's alright, I swear."

Harry let out a deep sigh, wrapping his arm around Louis' waist properly and hugging him close, and Louis nuzzled his face against Harry's chest.

"I was just afraid you'd never liked it." Harry said. "The cuddling. I thought I'd just been forcing you into it all this time. And I already don't get to touch you enough because of the stupid press and the paps and management getting in the way, and I was just really afraid you were going to tell me I couldn't cuddle you at home, either. And I'd miss cuddling you. It's my favorite thing to do with you, most days. You're warm and you're smaller than me, so you fit perfectly against me, and you smell like strawberries and tea leaves and it should be a weird combination but it smells so nice when I'm holding you close, Lou. I didn't want to lose that."

"You're not going to lose it." Louis shook his head, kissing Harry's collarbone. "From now on if I'm feeling smothered I'll just tell you nicely, yeah? I'll tell you nicely and the second I'm feeling alright again I'll come jump on you and cover you with kisses and hold you tightly until you can't breathe, yeah?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "I guess just...When I'm having a bad day, all I want is for you to hold me. And I sensed that you were in a bit of a mood, so I thought holding you might make you feel a bit better, but I guess I should've been doing the opposite."

"It's okay, Harry. You couldn't possibly have known how I was feeling." Louis said, lifting his head up to kiss Harry on the jaw.

"Next time you seem out of sorts I'll ask, though, yeah?"

"Sounds perfect, Hazza." Louis said, scooting up on the bed a bit so he could kiss Harry properly.

Louis pressed his lips to Harry's, and Harry could feel Louis smiling, and he smiled as well, which resulted in a very funny kiss that felt all wrong but entirely too right all at once. Louis brought a hand up, running his fingers through Harry's curls, and Harry squeezed the older boy's hip gently.

Louis pulled back, his blue eyes sparkling, "I love you so much, Hazza. And I love your cuddles."

"I just love your cuddles. The rest of you can get lost." Harry joked, smiling.

"Oh, shut it. You'd be lost without me."

"I would." Harry nodded, nuzzling his face into the crook of Louis' neck. "I would."


End file.
